Golf is a very popular game all over the world. Golf requires a great deal of skill in order to be competitive. Accordingly, golfers practice as much as possible to improve their distance and accuracy. Practice is particularly important with respect to fairway driving shots. Driving ranges have been established to allow golfers to concentrate on practicing long range shots without the time and expense of a full round of golf. The typical driving range includes a parcel of land with a series of driving stations, or stalls. A golfer usually rents a bucket of range balls and practices driving the balls down range from one of the driving stations. Once the golfer's practice session is complete the golfer leaves the range and does not have to be concerned with collecting the balls.
While a driving range provides golfers an opportunity to practice, the range can only provide limited feedback. Appropriate feedback is an important part of developing an improving skill and technique. A golfer may aim for a target placed on the range and gain some satisfaction if it appears that the ball landed near the target. However, such feedback is only qualitative and requires the golfer to remember each stroke and determine subjectively an overall performance for the practice session.
Accordingly, there is a need for a golf ball tracking system that allows golfers to track their performance at a driving range. There is a further need for a golf ball tracking system that is convenient and economical for the range operator.